We who are foreigners in Indonesia, or in any foreign land for that matter, tend to forget that what is perfectly familiar to us from the viewpoint of our native culture is often perfectly foreign to Indonesians.
It happened that an online friend asked yesterday "What does it mean if someone says he is a "Native American? Asli? He is originally from America? Like you?"
"No, it means that he is an Indian. An American Indian, not an Indian Indian."
"Oh! So why does he say 'Native American'?
"Because we don't say Indian anymore."
"Oh? But if you are originally from America, aren't you a native American?"
"No, only Indians are Native Americans. The rest of us are immigrants."
"Oh? Wow! So where do you originally come from?"
"Umm … America. But, you see, my ancestors came from England, whereas the Native Americans' ancestors came from America. I mean, they didn't come from America. They were already in America. That is, before America was America."
I realize that I'm beginning to suggest now that America started out being India.
"Okay. The Native Americans are the Indians."
"Yes. But Indian is politically incorrect. Now we say 'Native American' because they're not really Indians at all. It's like black and African-American as opposed to 'Negro'.
"Are they the same? Black and African-American?"
"Yes. The same as 'Negro', but we don't say Negro."
You see, it gets complicated. And I had just made it more complicated yet.
All this reminds me of a question posed by my friend Adi. We were having coffee together. He had been listening to a rap song, when he suddenly asked "What does it mean, 'Ma Nigga?"
"Hah? It means, Adi, that you never, ever say
'Ma Nigga'."
The 'why' of the thing is perfectly clear in the American mind, requiring no lengthy explanation. It is quite something else for the Indonesian, and nearly inexpressible when struggling to explain it all in a foreign tongue.
It happened that an online friend asked yesterday "What does it mean if someone says he is a "Native American? Asli? He is originally from America? Like you?"
"No, it means that he is an Indian. An American Indian, not an Indian Indian."
"Oh! So why does he say 'Native American'?
"Because we don't say Indian anymore."
"Oh? But if you are originally from America, aren't you a native American?"
"No, only Indians are Native Americans. The rest of us are immigrants."
"Oh? Wow! So where do you originally come from?"
"Umm … America. But, you see, my ancestors came from England, whereas the Native Americans' ancestors came from America. I mean, they didn't come from America. They were already in America. That is, before America was America."
I realize that I'm beginning to suggest now that America started out being India.
"Okay. The Native Americans are the Indians."
"Yes. But Indian is politically incorrect. Now we say 'Native American' because they're not really Indians at all. It's like black and African-American as opposed to 'Negro'.
"Are they the same? Black and African-American?"
"Yes. The same as 'Negro', but we don't say Negro."
You see, it gets complicated. And I had just made it more complicated yet.
All this reminds me of a question posed by my friend Adi. We were having coffee together. He had been listening to a rap song, when he suddenly asked "What does it mean, 'Ma Nigga?"
"Hah? It means, Adi, that you never, ever say
'Ma Nigga'."
The 'why' of the thing is perfectly clear in the American mind, requiring no lengthy explanation. It is quite something else for the Indonesian, and nearly inexpressible when struggling to explain it all in a foreign tongue.
No comments:
Post a Comment